Troels Carlsen’s Paintings Within Paintings

Copenhagen-based artist Troels Carlsen creates multi-level paintings on paper that combine elements of landscape, scientific illustration and portraiture. Carlsen’s works often include images within images, as if one piece bursts out of the next. But rather than competing for attention, the paintings’ different levels inform one another, giving each other a context through which to understand their isolated imagery. Repeating historical allusions and references to Victorian-era anatomy studies add complexity to Carlsen’s work, creating a connection to European colonialism and its legacy. Take a look at some of Carlsen’s artworks below.